


Grace Under Pressure

by MaybeItWasMemphis



Category: Scrubs (TV)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Mentions of Past Child Abuse and Neglect, Romance, repost from my old account
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 11,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22189273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaybeItWasMemphis/pseuds/MaybeItWasMemphis
Summary: Dr. Grace Rickman is a third-year resident at Sacred Heart Hospital and it's the strangest place that she has ever worked. Her new co-workers/friends might as well have jumped out of a television sitcom and her new best friend, Jordan, seems hell-bent on playing Cupid.REPOST FROM MY OLD ACCOUNT
Relationships: Perry Cox/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Scrubs so Bill Lawrence please don't sue.
> 
> Author's Note: This is going to be a Dr. Cox/OFC story. If that is not your cup of tea, please turn back now.
> 
> Authot's Note II: This story used to be posted on my old account, BadWolf1988. I deleted that account for personal reasons.

_“Keep walking through the storm. Your rainbow is waiting on the other side.”_

**\- Heather Stillufsen**

As I stood at the nurse's station filling out a med order for my AIDS patient in Room 12, I kept sneaking glances in the direction of my new boss, Dr. Cox. He was standing outside the closed door of what had been deemed a 'clean room', tearing a first-year intern a new one.

“Were you born stupid or is this a recent achievement?” He asked rhetorically with a sneer. “Why do we call it a 'clean room'?” He asked as though he was speaking to a very small child.

“Because the patient's immune system can't handle infection so purified air is pumped in to keep out germs and all medical personnel must be properly scrubbed and attired before entering.” The intern – I think his name was Dale – rattled off like he had swallowed a medical textbook.

“Righto! So, tell me why exactly you would go in that room not even wearing a pair of damn gloves? How many times did your mommy drop you on your head as a child? And did she do it by accident or was this a Greek god thing where you were just so darn ugly that she couldn't help herself?”

Wow. If I had a boss like Dr. Cox during my first year as an intern, I probably would have either quit or gone to jail for assault on my first day. Poor Dale looked like he was about to burst out into tears at any moment. Luckily, Dr. Cox went a little easier on us residents who (mostly) knew what we were doing. Sure, he was rude, egotistical, and never complimentary, but he never downright tore us down. I had been at Sacred Heart Hospital for a little over a month and the worst thing he had done to me so far was give me the childish sounding nickname, 'Gracie Face'. I rolled with it, lest I end up with something worse. He called Dr. Reid, 'Barbie', and Dr. Dorian (a bloke), by a large variety of female names.

At first, I hadn't understood why everyone in the hospital seemed completely okay with Dr. Cox's behavior. Why hadn't anyone filed a complaint against him, I wondered. After only a week working at the hospital, I totally got it. The asshole act was just that... an act. It was how he kept us all on our toes and from making deadly mistakes with our patients. It was how he shaped us into good doctors and there was no better teacher. Dr. Cox was an amazing doctor who really cared about his patients. He also wasn't hard on the eyes. I was a Brit who had grown up with a massive crush on Prince Harry. What could I say? I had a type and that type was fit gingers.

“Miss Metatron, I need a favor from you.” Dr. Dorian – who everyone called J.D. – seemed to just pop up out of nowhere.

I sighed, “J.D., just because I'm English and my last name is Rickman doesn't mean that I'm Alan Rickman's secret love child. As I've told you many times before, Rickman is a very common surname.”

“Nope, don't believe it.” He shook his head before calling over his shoulder. “Yo, Turk, what do you think?! You think Grace is Alan R.'s kid?”

“She's Snape's baby all the way!” J.D.'s best friend and the head surgical resident, Dr. Chris Turk called back as he passed us in the hallway.

“How do I make them bleedin' stop?” I groaned to my favorite nurse (and Turk's wife) Carla.

“Kill them,” she said simply. “I just haven't had the courage yet.”

“Yet?” J.D. looked at her suspiciously. “What do you mean 'yet'?” He got this faraway look on his face and completely zoned out.

“J.D. the favor?” I reminded him. He was in his own little world and didn't respond. “J.D.!” I clapped my hands in front of his face.

“I wasn't picturing Carla as a female Rambo!” J.D. said as he snapped out of his daydream. I wondered when his last psyche evaluation had been. J.D. was a good doctor but the bloke was completely mental.

“What was the favor?” I sighed and asked again.

“Oh, right.” He snapped his fingers. “You're friends with Jordan, right?”

“Yes...” I already knew where this was headed.

Jordan Sullivan was on the hospital board of directors. We had met when she had cast the deciding vote to hire me. Going back to Alan Rickman for a moment, Jordan had the kind of personality where she could pass for Severus Snape's bitchy daughter. She could reduce the strongest of men to tears with just a few well-timed, completely dry insults. Also, like Snape, she did have a heart hidden deep down. If she considered you a friend, she had your back.

“Well, the board is meeting tomorrow and I put in a request for leave time for my honeymoon...”

J.D. was marrying Dr. Elliot Reid AKA Barbie to Dr. Cox in a little under a month's time. Our Chief-of-Staff, Dr. Kelso, was a bit of a wanker. He didn't like giving the residents and interns time off because we didn't make as much as attendings. It was cheaper to keep us on call. To get extra or unplanned time-off, you had to ask the board of directors.

“Nope, Linda, Gracie Face can't help you.” Dr. Cox came over to the nurse's station to grab a patient's chart. “You see, newbie, since our new Brit doctor here has been hanging out with the Wicked Witch of Botox, she has had less of a desire to drag me shopping for a new broomstick. You aren't going to jeopardize this blessed friendship by making Gracie Face ask for favors. Put on your big girl panties and ask Jordan yourself.”

Did I mention that Dr. Cox was Jordan's ex-husband and the father of her two children?


	2. Chapter 2

As I sat in the hospital cafeteria, I decided to be nice to J.D. and bring up his leave request with Jordan... mostly because it would divert her attention away from the truly grotesque story she was telling about her passionate weekend with some Arab sheik when she was in college.

“J.D. asked me to talk to you about his leave request because the board meets tomorrow.” I interrupted her graphic description of a sexual position that, as a doctor, I wasn't even sure was humanly possible.

“The little man already asked me.” Jordan waved her hand dismissively. “I told him I'd take care of it but that he and Barbie owe me their first born child.”

The scariest part of this was... I wasn't totally sure if she was joking or not.

Jordan eyed me over her sad, dressing-less salad that looked like it belonged in a rabbit cage. “J.D. also said that Perry told you not to ask me... that's why he did it himself.”

“And?” I asked as I took a bite of meatloaf that I'm pretty sure didn't contain any actual meat and grimaced.

“None of the other residents would dare go against Perry.” Jordan shook her head.

Why was the older woman looking at me like I was an interesting patient case study?

“J.D. was asking me for a personal favor. Dr. Cox has no control over what I do in my personal life.” I shrugged as I grabbed my Coke to wash down whatever the bloody hell I had just eaten. I had no clue what a human corpse tasted like (because I'm not insane) but I'm pretty sure I had the aftertaste in my mouth.

“Maybe he should,” Jordan said as casually as if she were discussing the weather as I spit my soda at her.

“Sorry,” I said passing her a napkin to dry off with. “What the hell are you on about?” I asked as she wiped the sticky concoction from her way too made up and botoxed face.

“Perry NEEDS a woman in his life so that he's less of a miserable asshole.” Jordan rolled her eyes. “But he can't be with just any woman. He needs a strong woman who won't put up with his crap... and, you know, won't cheat on him. I never mastered that last one.” She shook her head like her infidelity was no big deal. “You totally fit the bill.”

“You're completely nutters.” I laughed. “He's my boss... and I doubt very much that he's interested in me like that.” This was the strangest lunch date that I had ever shared with a friend. Trying to set me up with her ex-husband, really?

“There's no policy against doctors dating residents and you have brown hair, brown eyes, and little something going on up top.” She stared pointedly at my chest that I suddenly felt the need to cover with my arms even though I was fully clothed.

“Just because I fall into the general category of his type, that doesn't mean anything,” I scoffed.

“He's not overtly cruel to you, he actually listens to your medical opinion, and he calls you 'Gracie Face', a nickname that, while childish, isn't downright insulting.” Jordan ticked off on her fingers. “Does he treat any of the other interns or residents like that?”

I slowly shook my head as I realized that Jordan was right. Even J.D., Dr. Cox's protege didn't get treated as kindly as I did.

Jordan smirked before snapping her fingers. “Oh!” she said as though she had just remembered. “There's another reason why I think Perry's attracted you...”

“Which is?” I asked against my better judgement.

“He told me that he was and asked me to fix you guys up.”

If I had been drinking anything in that moment, my beverage would probably be decorating the far right wall of the cafeteria. Dr. Mad McHottie (my secret nickname for my boss) fancied me.

“And I noticed that you didn't once in that little argument deny that you are attracted to Perry.”

Her grin was pure evil in that moment. How did I get myself into this situation? I groaned and let my head fall to the table to rest on my red plastic tray.


	3. Chapter 3

My mobile had rung at least five times but I had stubbornly refused to answer it. I didn't even have to check the caller ID to know that it was Jordan who was calling. The woman was hell-bent on fixing me up with Dr. Cox... and it was so NOT happening. I'm not saying that the idea of dating my boss wasn't appealing because it was. I just valued my career (and sanity) too much to get involved in what could very well be nothing more than a fling with my best mate's ex-husband. Bloody hell, even thinking that felt creepy and wrong.

I had just settled down on the sofa with a glass of sweet iced tea (the American beverage had grown on me) and a bowl of pretzels to binge-watch The IT Crowd on Netflix when someone knocked on my apartment door.

Groaning in frustration, I set my glass on the coffee table, paused the telly, and dragged myself to the door. It was eight o' clock on a rare Friday night off for me. I wasn't pleased to be having visitors.

Pulling open the door, the tongue lashing I had been preparing to deliver to my uninvited 'guest' died on my lips. How in the hell did Dr. Mad McHotty know where I lived?

“Jordan gave me your address,” Dr. Cox answered my unasked question. He was wearing a hockey jersey and jeans. He looked even better dressed in day clothes than he did dressed in his scrubs.

“What are you doing here, Dr. Cox?”

“I wanted to see if you would like to grab a drink with me?” He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He smirked and nodded at my vest. “You know if Newbie or his husband ever see you wearing that, the Alan Rickman's daughter jokes will only get worse, right?”

Looking down, I rolled my eyes. My vest had the image of the depressed robot from the movie adaption of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on it... a character that had been voiced by Alan Rickman.

“Good thing I wasn't planning on going out then,” I said pointedly. “I could have told you that if you had bothered phoning before stopping by.”

“I did... three times.” He nodded. “You didn't answer.”

“Normally, when people don't answer their phone it's because they don't want to be bothered.”

“Can the British chill, Gracie-Face,” Dr. Cox smirked again. “You already know that I like you and I already know that you like me.”

“You know no such thing.” I gently but firmly pushed him out the door.

“You know I'm not done with you, right?”

I slammed the door in his face. I was going to murder Jordan... slowly.


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later and I wasn't sure how much longer I could take Dr. Cox's attempts to woo me.

Some of his attempts were cute. Like the time he had a visiting therapy dog come up to the nurse's station where I was updating patient charts and shake my hand with her paw. Once I did this, I noticed the red rose and note attached to her collar. When I read the note, written in Dr. Cox's serial killer scrawl, I rolled my eyes.

_*** It shouldn't take this much work to talk to you, gorgeous. ***_

Other attempts had me planning his murder in my free time. Like the time, just this morning, when he had two dozen red lilies delivered to me in the doctor's lounge. Sure, red lilies are my favorite flowers (I don't even want to know how he had learned that) but he didn't have to include the card that simply read, 'Always'. Dr. Cox had to know that J.D. and Turk would see the card. Turk had told me how sorry he was about my mum's death and J.D. had wondered why they'd never met my brother Harry.

“So, how'd you like your flowers, Gracie Face?” Dr. Cox stood in the doorway, hugging his clipboard to his chest like it was a school textbook, while I checked on the vitals of a comatose patient.

“Oh, they're lovely,” I told him as I checked the dosage of the medication in the patient's IV. “I've spent most of the day listening to Harry Potter jokes but they're lovely.” I put my stethoscope in my ears, hoping against hope that Dr. Cox would be gone by the time I was done checking the patient's respiratory system. No such luck. He was waiting patiently when I was done. “I told you that I wasn't interested,” I reminded him as I walked and grabbed the chart that hung on the wall next to his head.

“And I told you that I wasn't done with you,” he countered with a smirk. “I guess we're at an impasse.”

I blew out a huff of frustration before fixing him with a glare. “If I go on a date with you will you stop with this nonsense?”

“Probably,” Dr. Cox shrugged. “Guess you'll have to risk it and find out.”

“Bleeding hell, FINE!” I snapped, throwing my hands up in defeat. “One date, this Saturday night BUT you have to get J.D. and Turk to stop taking the mickey out of me about my last name.”

“I can try,” Dr. Cox nodded seriously. “But you just can't cure stupid. I've been trying for years; had zero breakthroughs.”

Oh, for the love of Alan Rickman's ghost! What was I bloody getting myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't understand the joke with the flowers, google: Snape + Always


	5. Chapter 5

Why the bloody hell was I doing this? I nervously paced back and forth in my living room. Was I dressed okay? I was wearing a pair of low-rise jeans and a t-shirt with the _AC/DC_ band logo on it. Dr. Cox didn't seem like the kind of man who enjoyed fancy dress restaurants.

When I heard knocking on my front door I almost jumped out of my skin. I had to take a moment to calm my breathing before I could answer it. I relaxed about my clothing choices when I opened the door and found Dr. Cox on the other side wearing jeans and a tight red t-shirt. Damn it, he looked good. In his hands, he held a bouquet of red lilies. “I promise there's no card this time,” as he offered me the flowers.

“Thank you, Dr. Cox, they're lovely,” I accepted them with a sincere smile as he chuckled.

“This is a date, Grace, you can call me, Perry.”

That was probably the first time that he had ever called me by my proper Christian name. I liked the way that he said it... way more than I probably should have. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. It was best to just get this date over and done with. Then they could go back to 'Dr. Cox' and 'Gracie Face' and everything could go as back to normal as Sacred Heart staff members were capable of getting.

Dr. Co – Perry, I mentally scolded myself, didn't take me out to a restaurant or to the bar by the hospital. He took me back to his upscale penthouse apartment. I got the wrong idea right away. “Perry, I agreed to a date, not a roll in the hay,” I admonished as he killed the car's engine.

Perry turned to me with a smirk on his face. “Jordan's at a charity event tonight and my nanny's off in half an hour. I have the kids. I was hoping you'd allow me to cook you dinner. After that, I was going to ask you to stick around with me and the kids while we watch ‘ _The Lion King_ ’ for the seven hundredth time.”

Wow. I felt like a total bitch. Here I had assumed that Perry was just trying to get into my knickers when in reality, he was offering me my idea of the perfect first date. A man cooking for me and watching Disney films on the telly sounded like pure heaven. Even the kids didn't bother me. I knew and loved little Jack and Jennifer. They were awesome kids and oddly sweet given who their parents were. “I'm sorry,” I whispered and nervously tucked some hair behind my ear.

Perry rolled his eyes and laughed before reaching across the center console and grabbing the front of my t-shirt. He gently pulled me closer and planted his lips on mine for a kiss that was disturbingly good given how chaste it was. It was certainly the first time that I saw metaphorical fireworks from a closed mouth kiss.

“There,” Perry said when he pulled away. “That's as serious as I planned on getting tonight. We already got it out of the way so you can relax, Gracie Face.”

No, I really couldn't.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Do I freakin' look (or sound) like Walt Disney to you? Yeah, I don't own ‘The Lion King’.

After our little kiss in the car, it had taken me a good twenty minutes to gather my wits about me again. Once we had entered his apartment, I was very thankful for Jack and Jennifer's presence. Little ones always made for good buffers when things got awkward. The weird part was that the only reason things were awkward was because they weren't awkward. Yeah, I'm aware that sounds bonkers but let me explain myself. I had been expecting Perry to put the moves on me and try to get in my knickers. I imagined forced conversations at some posh restaurant. What I got was a rather enjoyable evening playing _Candyland_ with Jack while two-year-old Jennifer sat beside me coloring and talking up a storm. While all of this was going on, Perry stood at the counter cooking dinner and talking and laughing with me and the kids. When Jack won our game (I totally let him win) and called his dad over to see, Perry had stood behind me, rubbing my shoulders while he praised the little boy. When he went back to the stove to check on dinner, he dropped a kiss to the top of my head first. I found myself feeling relaxed and at home. When my brain finally registered how comfortable I had allowed myself to become, it went on red alert. Given the type of childhood I had, bouncing around between family members while my mum was in and out of jail. I wasn't used to feeling comfortable in any one place. I wasn't used to even having a place. I was used to being some aunt or uncle's extra kid that they were forced to look after because they felt obligated to by blood. When faced with the possibility of permanent, I always ran because, to me, nothing was permanent in life, especially relationships.

As we sat with the kids on the couch watching _‘The Lion King’_ , Perry must have noticed I had tensed up again because he reached across where the kids sat between us and took my hand and started rubbing soothing little circles with his thumb.

“ _Oh, yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it or learn from it.”_

Damn. That was one wise and weird little mandrill monkey that the film misidentified as a baboon. Yes, I'm very nitpicky about cinema, I'm well aware of that, thank you very much. Taking a deep breath, I opened my hand fully and allowed Perry to interlock our fingers. He glanced over and gave me a warm smile before giving my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He was silently acknowledging that he understood that I was willing to try with him and he was happy about it.

When the movie was over, I helped Perry put the kids to bed before realizing that I had no way of getting home. Perry's nanny was long gone and he couldn't very well leave two young children alone while he drove me home.

“I talked to Carla before I left the hospital today,” Perry told me as I retook my seat on the couch and he stood at the bar fixing us both drinks. Yeah, scotch sounded really good at the moment. “She's waiting for a text from me. If you want to go home, she'll come and pick you up.” He walked over and handed me a half-full tumbler before sitting down next to me.

“If I want to?” Where exactly was he going with this? Certainly not into my knickers, that's for damn sure.

“Well, Carla could take you home,” Perry nodded. “Or you can spend the night with me because we're both off this weekend. And, before your dirty little mind runs away with you, I'm offering you a night in my bed, not my penis.”

I couldn't help it, I snorted out a laugh just as I took a sip of my drink. In case you were curious, yes, scotch does burn like hellfire when you accidentally inhale it up your nose. Real attractive picture I'm painting, I know.

Perry grabbed a tissue out of the box on the coffee table and handed it to me with an amused smirk on his handsome face. “And before you say 'yes', or 'oh, hell no', be sure of what you want. I'm not going to keep chasing you after tonight. Jordan did leave me a little bit of my pride in the divorce. If you say 'yes', please only stay if you plan on coming back.” The smirk was gone and he was deadly serious now. “I'm not in the habit of allowing women into my home when my kids are here. They're already at a disadvantage with Medusa for a mother and I'd like them to witness at least one of their parents in a healthy relationship so Jennifer doesn't end up on a pole or Jack in a boy band.”

“So, you're saying that you want me to stay... just to sleep, but you only want me to stay if I'm willing to be in a relationship with you?” I had to ask for clarification. Perry's mouth tended to run away with him and he could be hard to follow if you weren't paying close attention.

“Exclusive relationship.”

Given how his marriage to Jordan had ended, I couldn't blame him for tacking on that qualifier. He didn't want to get burned again and he didn't want to emotionally scar his kids. The little bit of insecurity he was allowing me to get a glimpse of coupled with the overprotective daddy bit were working wonders on jaded, old me. “Okay,” I nodded and smiled. “I want to stay, Perry.”

He eyed me suspiciously. “You're not going to get my hopes up by staying and then pretend that nothing happened come Monday morning at work, are you?”

I shook my head. “I wouldn't do that to you,” or anyone else for that matter. That’s just mean.

“You know I'm not going to hide this at work, right? I'm also going to take up so many of your nights that eventually you're going to realize that your apartment is nothing more than a big storage locker and just move in here. I also reserve the right to molest you in the on-call room and drag you to Disney movies about bitchy ice queens because the kids get reminded of their mommy and beg to see it.”

“I'm okay with all of that even though my insecurities will probably see me getting spooked once or twice and attempting to bolt. Just promise to chase me when I do because I think there could be something really great between us, even though the thought scares me to death.”

“I promise, Grace.” He took my glass and set it, along with his, on the coffee table.

“Good,” I smiled and scooted closer until we were seated pressed up against one another. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I tilted my head up. “Will you stop talking and kiss me now?”

“Gladly, baby,” he smiled before his mouth came down on mine in a slow, sweet kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

I found myself suddenly feeling very frazzled as I stood awkwardly at the foot of Perry's bed while he quietly shut and locked the bedroom door. I almost jumped out of my skin when Perry came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Relax, babe,” he chuckled huskily, laying a kiss on the side of my neck and giving my waist a gentle squeeze. “Remember what I said, no penis, just sleeping.”

I laughed but I could feel the tell-tale heat in my cheeks informing me that I was blushing. “Must you be so crude?”

Perry stepped away from me but into my line of sight. “I prefer to think of it as being straightforward,” he replied as he divested himself of his shirt.

Bloody. Hell. I knew from the way he filled out his clothes that he was fit but I hadn't expected him to be so... lickable was the inappropriate word that came to mind.

Perry caught me ogling him and pulled me back into his arms with a smirk on his face. “Like what you see, Grace?”

Okay, seriously, why does the way he says my name give me gooseflesh? It was my bleeding name for crying out loud. I had heard it said a million times in my life by a multitude of different people. It's not like Perry was doing something that was unprecedented by saying it. “Very much,” I found myself responding to his question even though I'm pretty sure my brain had requested my mouth not to.

Perry brought his hands up to gently grasp my hips. He let his thumbs travel underneath my shirt to stroke the sensitive bare skin of my lower back. “I like what I see too.” He bent down and softly kissed my lips. When he pulled away, there was a soft, affectionate look on his face. “And whenever you decide you're ready, I know I'll more than like what I see then.”

“You know you scare the hell out of my right?” Apparently, my mouth no longer trusted my brain's opinion and was saying whatever the hell it pleased.

“I know, baby.” He pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. “Eventually you'll see that there's nothing to be scared of. I'm patient. I can wait as long as you need.”

Okay, that last part made me laugh which lightened up the mood in the room considerably. “Perry, you are the least patient man that I have ever met in my life. The lab techs at the hospital are all terrified of you.”

“Alright, fine,” he gave a playful, exaggerated sigh. “When it comes to you and my kids, I'm patient. The rest of the world should still be very, very afraid.”

“Now that, I believe.” Shockingly, I actually did. I had trusted Perry since day one at work. He had never steered me wrong. Now I found that that trust had extended to our personal relationship as well. It was both frightening and thrilling at the same time.

“Good,” he commented and gave me one last kiss before he again pulled away from me. “There's an extra toothbrush in the drawer next to the sink in the bathroom.” He walked to his dresser and pulled out a clean white t-shirt and tossed it to me. “You can sleep in that.”

“No thanks, love.” I tossed it back to him before nicking the one he had just taken off from the end of the bed. “I want the one that smells like you.” I pulled my t-shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor before shimming out of my jeans. For a brief moment, I stood in front of him in nothing but my black cotton bra and panties before I pulled his t-shirt over my head. Perry was a large bloke so his shirt almost came down to my knees.

Perry's eyes popped and his mouth dropped open for a quick second before he composed himself. He clapped his hands together before pointing a finger at me. “Okay, Gracie-Face, when you do things like that you make it very hard, pun totally intended, for me to keep my no penis promise.”

Point. Me.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning I woke up alone. I reached over and felt Perry's side of the bed. It was cold. He'd obviously been up for a while and had been nice enough to let me have a bit of a lay-in. Getting out of bed, I put on my clothes from the night before and made my way out into the living room. Perry was seated on the couch watching ESPN. I couldn't see or hear Jack and Jennifer anywhere in the apartment which was odd. If those kids were around and awake you could bet that they were making noise.

“Where are the little people,” I asked as I took a seat beside Perry and cuddled into his side.

“Well, if their never-ending commercials are any indication, I'd say on the TLC network,” Perry quipped as he wrapped his arm around me.

“Perry, where are your children?” I tried the direct approach.

Perry laughed and leaned down to kiss me. “Jordan picked them up early because she wanted to take them to breakfast with the fire-breathing dragon that she calls a mother. It's just you and me until Monday.”

That did not freak me out as much as it would have the previous day. “So what are we going to do,” I asked.

“It's almost noon,” Perry glanced at the clock on the cable box. “You want to go and grab lunch and catch a movie?”

“I'd love to.” I smiled and nodded.

We ended up getting lunch at Perry's favorite hole in the wall sports pub where everyone knew him and the burgers were huge and delicious and in no way good for you. Three different kinds of cheese, bacon, a deep-fried onion ring, and a fried egg topped with red and green peppers sounds like a horrible combination but one I took a bite I knew that I had found my new PMS comfort food.

After lunch, we headed to the nearby $2.00 cinema and caught the 2 pm showing of the Simon Peg/Nick Frost film _'Paul._ ' The adult comedy about a runaway stoner alien was worlds away from _'The Lion King.'_

After the film, I convinced Perry to talk a walk in the park AND visit my favorite vintage t-shirt shop with me. Night was falling when we finally ended our outing and got back in Perry's car.

“I was thinking,” Perry said as he started the car's engine. “Why don't we stop by your place so you can pack a bag?”

I turned to him and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Perry ran a nervous hand over his mouth. “I don't have the kids again until Friday night. I was thinking you could spend the next week with me. This way we can spend time together outside of work.”

Perry was essentially telling me that he wanted to live with him without actually saying the words. I knew how men operated. I wasn't exactly a blushing virgin. When the week was up, he'd tell me that he wanted to spend quality time with me and the kids to get me to stay the weekend. From there, he would come up with excuse after excuse to keep me from going home. Eventually, he'd get around to asking me to live with him...probably when his closet was already half full of my clothes. I realized there was really only one reason why Perry would want to live with a woman that he had never slept with.

“Perry, love,” I tried to keep my tone even and devoid of all anxiety “are you already in love with me?” I turned to look at him.

Perry's hand froze on the gear shaft. “Baby, I've been in love with you since your first week at the hospital.” He wasn't looking at me when he made his admission. He only turned his gaze away from the steering wheel to look in my eyes when he had finished speaking.

I was almost positive of my feelings for him but wasn't ready to vocalize them. Instead, I leaned over and kissed him. “Let's swing by my place,” I agreed.


	9. Chapter 9

Things with Perry were going way too well. I was still waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me. We'd been together for over two months and while we could snippy with one another, we hadn't had a single row in that entire time...and we lived together. I had been right. After our first sleepover, I hadn't gone back to my flat. It was almost a month before Perry handed me a key and formally asked me to live with (and the kids when they were there). A month later and I was finally getting around to clearing my old place out.

Perry had helped and we bribed J.D. and Turk to help with pizza and beer. Carla and Elliot had come along as their husbands' babysitters which I greatly appreciated. J.D. and Turk could sometimes (almost all the time) act like drunk toddlers

We had just finished cleaning out my flat. The guys had departed in the moving van for Perry's (and now my) place and Carla and Elliot had taken all the kids for ice cream. Perry and I were finishing up the clean up so I could get my security deposit back...and then a knock came on the flat door.

Curious who would be knocking when everyone I knew was aware that I now lived with Perry, I went and pulled open the door. There, standing on my doorstep was the rug that was pulled out from beneath my happiness.

“Mum.” That's all I could say. I hadn't seen her since my first year of medical school when she had sought me out to “borrow” money to cover one of her many drug debts. I had given her five hundred pounds and she had disappeared into the night from wench she came.

“Grace, my darling girl,” Mum beamed. “You are a hard lady to track down, my love.”

“That's by design.” I decided to cut my toxic family out of my life for good when I was twenty-four. I didn't want to be found. It's why I had left the U.K. in the first place. “What do you want, Mum? I'm not giving you any more money and if you need a place to stay, there's a lovely Red Roof Inn just up the street.”

“Gracie, no,” Mum shook her head.

“Don't call me Gracie,” I hissed. “Only my boyfriend and his kids are allowed to me that. It's a family name. You stopped being family the first time you dropped me off with Aunt Janelle so you could go and get loaded.”

“Gracie-Face, what's wrong, baby?” Perry appeared beside me. “I could hear you at the back of the apartment.” He crossed his arms over his chest when he noticed my mom. “Who the hell are you?”

“Perry, this is my mum, Patti Rickman,” I made introductions.

“The junkie who wrecked your childhood?”

I nodded and unconsciously moved closer to him and he wrapped me in his arms. I had told him my story, little by little since we had gotten together. To say he wasn't a fan of my mother was like saying that Mariah Carey was only a little bit of a diva.

“What the hell do you want?” Perry glared at my mum.

“To speak to MY daughter,” Mum started to get riled up.

I felt the almost painful tingling in the pit of my stomach, the wet pressure behind my eyelids, and my breathing became faster, making me dizzy. The room damn near felt like it was spinning. I was having an anxiety attack.

Perry noticed the state that I was in. “Well, she clearly doesn't want to speak to you.” He slammed the door in Mum's face. 

Once the door was closed, I lost it. “How did she find me?” I sobbed into Perry's chest.

“Doesn't matter,” Perry held me tighter and kissed the top of my head. “To get to you she has to go through me...and Jordan...and Janice, her boyfriend, Carla, Barbie, hell, even the Janitor loves you. You're safe, baby, I promise you that.”


	10. Chapter 10

That night I was overly aggressive in the bedroom and Perry noticed. 

“Grace, baby, stop,” he pushed my hands away from where they had been hurriedly unbuttoning his shirt. He pushed me back to lay on the pillows. “What's gotten into you, Gracie-Face? You know I don't mind a rough tumble every now and again but this seems wrong, baby.”

“What are you talking about?” We'd had sex plenty of times in the last few months. Sometimes it was slow and sweet. Sometimes it was rough and passionate. I didn't know what was so off about tonight.

Perry caressed my cheek. “You've been quiet ever since you saw your mom and you jumped me the minute the bedroom door was closed like a woman possessed. I'm not going to let you just fuck away your feelings. I will, however, make love to you to remind you how much I love you so that you remember that your days of being alone are behind you. So, what do you wanna do, Gracie-Face?”

I had to swallow the lump that formed in my throat before I could reply. I ran my hand up his chest. “I want you to love me, Perry.”

Perry caught my hand and brought it to his lips so he could kiss my knuckles. He smiled. “I do love you, baby, always.”

“I know,” I nodded and took a deep breath. “I love you too, Perry.” It was the first time that I had said it. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders the minute the words were out. 

Perry grinned happily. “I never doubted it, sweetheart, but I'm still really glad to hear it.”

I reached up and started unbuttoning his flannel shirt. “Will you please make love to me, Perry?”

“Always,” he leaned down and took possession of my lips.

I was only wearing my knickers and Perry was only in jeans when the apartment buzzer went off. 

“Damn it,” Perry cursed, pushing off me and looking for his shirt. 

I heard the sound of doors opening and little feet alerting us to the fact that the buzzer had woken Jack and Jennifer. 

“Someone better be dead,” Perry growled. “I'll get the door.”

I got out of bed and put on my dressing gown. “I'll get the kids.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Someone visiting?” Jack was rubbing his eyes with his little fists. 

Jennifer didn't even speak. She simply held up her chubby little arms to be held. I leaned down and scooped her up in my arms. “I don't know, love. Let's go and see.” Holding Jennifer with one arm, I held out my free hand to Jack.

When we arrived in the living room, it was to find Perry arguing with our guest. It was my mum. 

“Look, lady, Grace has made it crystal clear that she doesn't want to see you.” Perry was glaring at my mum and standing his ground. “Please, don't make me call the cops and turn this into a Live P.D. Episode.”

“This is important,” Mum insisted. “I need to speak with Grace. Just one conversation and I'll leave. She'll never have to see me again.”

I set Jennifer down on the floor beside her brother and turned to speak to Jack. “Jack, sweetheart, why don't you take your sister and go and watch the telly in my and Daddy's room?” I knew that Jack knew how to work the DVR and we had a good supply of kids shows and movies recorded.

Once I heard the bedroom door close, I walked over to join Perry at the front door. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at my mother. “What could possibly be so important that you'd show up at the door of my home in the middle of the night? How did you even get this address anyway?”

“A nice doctor at your hospital...Dr. Dorian, I believe.”

“Lucy's gonna die.” Perry's head looked like it was about to explode. He turned to look at me. “Tell Black Ricky to start making the funeral arrangements.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. If Perry could only hear some of the things that left his mouth, he'd understand why everyone thought he was nutters. 

“Grace, I wouldn't be here if this wasn't seriously important. I know how you feel about me and you have every right to feel the way that you feel.” Mum's face actually showed desperation. She was telling the truth. Something was really wrong.

I held up a finger. “I'll give you one cup of tea to say what you need to say. Then I want you gone, out of my life for good.”

Mum nodded. “I'll take it.”

I stepped aside to let her in and Perry pulled me off to the side. “Gracie-Face, you don't have to do this. You don't owe that woman a damn thing.”

“I know,” I nodded and assured him. “But I also know that she wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious. I need to know.”

“I get it, baby,” he leaned down and gently kissed me. “I'm not getting laid tonight, am I?” I knew he was only messing around as he pouted. 

“Probably not, no, love.”

“Damn it.”


	12. Chapter 12

Perry retreated to our bedroom with the kids while I retreated into the kitchen with my mum. I directed her to sit at the table while I grabbed the tea kettle and filled it with water. 

“Those children are beautiful. How old are they?” Mum made herself comfortable at the table.

“Jack's almost five and Jennifer just turned two,” I replied as I put the kettle on the burner and turned on the stove. 

“And their mother?”

“Their mother is my best mate, Jordan. Her and Perry share custody, not that it's any of your business.” I leaned against the counter instead of joining Mum at the table. I just couldn't bring myself to get close to her. “Why are you here, Mum?”

“I have something to tell you that's going to make you hate me more than you already do,” Mum said ominously.

“Really not possible,” I replied coldly.

“You have a younger brother.” Mum couldn't seem to bring herself to look at me.

My heartfelt like it stopped for a moment. The rug hadn't just been pulled out from under me. It had been rolled up and was now beating me upside the head like it was a newspaper and I was a naughty dog. “A little brother?”

Mum nodded. 

“How much younger?”

“His name is Nathan and he's five,” Mum shared.

If Nathan was five, that meant that Mum had him when she was damn near fifty. What the bloody hell had she been thinking?

“Where is her,” I demanded to know. “Who's his father?”

“He's in foster care back home in Kent,” Mum admitted. “He was born addicted and I failed my last ordered drug test. My rights have been terminated. Nathan's going to go up for adoption in sixty days if a stable, blood relative doesn't step in to take him.”

“You never answer my other question,” I pointed out as the tea kettle started whistling. “Who is Nathan's father?” I took the kettle off the heat.

Mum started fiddling with her hands. She couldn't sit still even if she tried. You didn't need to be a doctor to see that she was tweaking badly. “That period's a bit of a blur, not a great time for me.”

Translation: She didn't know who had fathered my brother just like she didn't know who had fathered me. Grabbing two mugs out of the cupboard, I quickly fixed two cups of Earl Grey tea. I set one in front of mum. Then I nodded towards the notepad that sat on the table under the phone. “Drink your tea and write down all the information that I'll need to know. After that, I want you out. I have to figure out how to explain this to my boyfriend and I can't do that with you here.”


	13. Chapter 13

I found Perry in our bedroom after my mum had departed. He was sitting up against the headboard watching ESPN on the telly. Jack was passed out spread eagle on the bed beside him and Jennifer la cuddled into his side with her thumb in her mouth. I allowed myself a brief moment to enjoy the sight in front of me. The three goofballs in the bed never failed to make me smile.

"You alright, Gracie Face?" Perry noticed the notepad in my hand. "Is that Ursala's list of demands?"

He was trying to make me laugh but I was much too stressed out for him to succeed. "I have a kid brother. He's five." I walked over and say beside him on the bed. "He's in foster care back home in Kent. He'll be placed for adoption soon if a blood relative doesn't come forward soon. Mum's rights had been terminated." I reached over and set the notepad on Perry's nightstand.

"So, this time Mother-of-the-Year wants you to clean up her mess AND raise it." Perry nodded slowly. "That woman should write the how not to parent handbook. She'd make a killing."

Perry didn't seem mad, surprised, certainly, but he in no way seemed upset. I couldn't really tell how he was feeling and that got my anxiety going big time. "Love, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we're going to need a bigger place. This apartment can't handle three kids." He caught my hand and pulled me to cuddle into the side of his body that hadn't already been claimed by his daughter. "Just promise me we won't be moving to the suburbs until I'm allowed to buy a crossbow."

"Just in case of the zombie apocalypse, right?" I chuckled quietly.

"Noooooo," Perry drug out the word. "I was gonna use it to keep the neighbors off the lawn but, I'll concede, it could be useful in case the dead start rising."

"Okay," I giggled. "Suburbia is out of the questions. Got it." I took a deep breath and snuggled in closer. "Perry are you really as alright with this as you're acting, love?"

I felt Perry's arm tighten around my waist and the soft press of his lips against my forehead. "Baby, you took a chance with a grumpy asshole who came complete with two kids. This is the least I can do. Besides, I want to. This is your family, Gracie Face. That makes this kid my family too."

I closed my eyes to keep the tears at bay and lay my head on his chest. "I love you, Perry."

"I know, sweetheart." He gave me a little squeeze. "I love you too. Why don't we get some sleep? We can forget about everything else until the sun's up."

That sounded like the perfect play to my over-exhausted body and mind.


	14. Chapter 14

“Grace, your patient in room seven is requesting an increase in her morphine drip.” Carla got my attention away from the computer in the nurse’s station where I was pricing out flights to England. She handed me a med order to sign.

My patient in room seven was an eighty-two-year-old woman who was dying of stage four liver cancer. I signed the form without hesitation. “Carla, when you’ve finished with that order can you call the insurance company and see if Mrs. Dahlia has been approved to go home on hospice care? That poor woman shouldn’t have die in the ICU ward.”

“Sure,” Carla nodded. “Sweetie, are you okay?” She asked in concern. “I heard through the grapevine that you and Dr. Cox have both put in for personal time and now I’ve found you pricing flights to London with a pissed off look on your face.”

“You want to go out to lunch with me? I could use someone to talk to who isn’t Perry or Jordan.” One was overprotective and the other, while also overprotective even if she would never admit it, always seemed to offer solutions that were downright evil.

“Of course.” Carla smiled warmly.

***

We went to a small café that was a few blocks away from the hospital. I had wanted to avoid the cafeteria.

“Alright, Gracie, spill, chica.” Carla leaned back in her chair. It was a nice day and we had decided to eat outside at the wicker tables on the sidewalk.

“I just found out that I have a five-year-old little brother back home that my mum lost her parental rights to. Perry and I are flying to England while Jordan keeps the kids to take custody of him…permanently.”

“And Dr. Cox’s is upset about the new addition,” Carla guessed.

“Oh, no,” I shook my head. “Perry’s been great about it all. He rearranged Jack’s room and changed out the bed for a bunk bed. That’s not at all why I’m stressed out.”

“What is it? You can trust me,” Carla gently pressed.

I took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant. I just found out this morning. Perry doesn’t know yet.”

Carly whistled. “Yeah, sweetie, that’s a lot,” she agreed.

“What am I going to do?” I groaned.

“You’re going to tell the man who loves you that you’re carrying his child,” Carla gently ordered. “He’ll be happy about it, I know it. If not, I’ll kick his ass and Jordan and Elliot will join me,” she shrugged.

“What if he’s not happy? He’s already been so understanding about my brother. I mean, he’s already got two kids. How do I know if he wants anymore? We’ve never spoken about it before.” In hindsight, that had been an epic fail on our part.

Carla chuckled and shook her head. “Dr. Cox is head over heels in love with you. You’re literally his dream woman. He’ll be happy about the baby. I promise. Do you have Jack and Jennifer tonight?”

“No,” I shook my head. “We have them Friday through Monday morning. It’s only Thursday.”

“Well, before the niños come home, take a night to yourselves and talk to your man,” Carla advised. “The two of you have way too much on your plates to be keeping secrets.”

True that.


	15. Chapter 15

“Gracie-Face, why do I get the distinct impression that you’re worried about something?” Perry seemed to be staring me down from across the dinner table.

“You know I’m worried about my brother and going home to Kent,” I reminded him as I took a sip of my water.

Perry nodded. “I know you’re worried about those things. That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. What has you so worried that you came home after a full shift and cooked my favorite meal? This lasagna takes three hours just to cook and at least an hour’s worth or prep. I’ve watched you make it before, sweetheart.”

Damn. He was way too observant for my own good. Even though I knew what I needed to tell him, I couldn’t get the words to leave my mouth.

Perry just smirked and shook his head. “Let me try this another way. How far along are you, baby?”

My mouth fell open and I almost had to pick my jaw up off the wooden table. “You knew?”

Perry chuckled. “Not for sure but I suspected, yes. I’m a doctor. I’m trained to notice when my girl’s jugs increase in size.”

“Judging by the jokes I take it you’re not upset about this kid either?”

Perry shook his head. “Birth control isn’t just on you, baby. It’ll be work,” he nodded. “But we can do this.”

“We really need to get on the search for a house with a baby coming,” I pointed out. “I’d like all four kids to have their own rooms.”

“I already put a call in to my realtor last week,” Perry shook his head and smiled. “Now, how about instead of worrying about all the logistics you get over here so I can kiss the hell out of you?”

I grinned as I stood from my seat and walked around the table. Perry pulled me into his lap and buried his fingers in my hair, bringing my mouth down to his for a long, steamy kiss.

“I love you, Grace,” he spoke against my lips. “And I’ll love any child you bring into this house, natural or otherwise, just as much as I love Jack and Jennifer. Got it?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I nodded. “Got it…and I love you too.”

Perry leaned forward and playfully nipped at my neck. “I’d very much like you to prove that to me after dinner, baby, but I still have one question that I need you to answer for me.” His hand went into his pocket and he pulled out something that I couldn’t see because he purposefully kept it out of my line of sight.

“What?” I leaned my head against his shoulder. With the stress of my secret off my shoulders, I was feeling very relaxed and sleepy.

Perry brought his closed fist up to where I could see it and he opened his hand. Sitting in his palm was a simple, elegant diamond and gold ring. “Will you marry me, Grace?”

Screw being sleepy. I was now wide awake.


	16. Chapter 16

“Are you only asking because I’m pregnant?” I eyed him warily.

Perry rolled his eyes at me. “How would that even be a possibility? You just told me about the baby. I bought the ring three weeks ago.”

“You said you suspected that I was pregnant before I told you,” I reminded him.

“Nope. We’re not playing this game tonight.” Perry shook his head. “Use your brain, Gracie-Face. You know me, baby. Do you really think I would open myself up to the possibility of paying two women alimony just because I knocked you up? Nooooooo,” he drew out the word. He grabbed my left hand and slipped the ring on my finger. I didn’t try to fight him. “I’ve only suspected about the baby for the past week.” Well, that was longer than even I had. The wanker could have been helpful and clued me in. “We already live like man and wife anyway. I’m just asking you to make it paper official.”

I usually hated it when he bested me in an argument, but not this time. This time I was more than happy to lose. “Alright, love.” I nodded my head with a small smile. “I’ll marry you,” I agreed.

“I know you well.” Perry acted all cocky, but I was sitting in his lap. I could feel when the tension drained out of her body, and he relaxed. “I love you, Grace.” This, he said sincerely and without a trace of his trademark arrogance.

“I love you too.” I leaned down and softly kissed him. “You know, we should probably eat before everything gets too cold.”

Perry smirked before leaning down and playfully nipping at my chin. “Counteroffer, we put everything in the fridge for later, and you let me take you to bed. What do you say, baby?”

I pretended to think about it for a moment. “Fine. But I cooked, so you have to put everything in the fridge.” Would you look at that? We weren’t even married yet, and we were already negotiating the terms of sex.

“As if I would say no to a pregnant woman.” This time when he rolled his eyes, it was in an overly dramatic way.

“That’s not what Jordan told me,” I shot back at him.

“First of all, bringing the Bitch of Slutwick into THIS conversation – ew.” Perry made a disgusted face. “Second, just because I told her we couldn’t sacrifice our children to Satan at birth doesn’t mean that I’ll say no to helping you with chores. One of those things is diabolical, one isn’t.” He brought both of his hands up and pretended to be weighing options.

I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing. Yeah. I could most certainly do life with this silly man. 


	17. Chapter 17

“You ready for this, baby?” Perry asked as he finished stacking our luggage up by the front door. Our flight was scheduled to depart in a little under three hours, but to play it safe, we were headed to the airport early.

“As ready as I’m going to be, love,” I gave him a tight smile.

The truth was that I was more nervous than I had ever been in my entire existence. What if Nathan hated me? I looked so much like our mother. What if Nathan looked at me and saw her? What if we couldn’t connect emotionally? What if he was a holy terror, a real _Rosemary’s Baby_? I felt my heart rate speed up as the panic started to set in, and I tried to will myself to calm down. Stress wasn’t good for the baby.

I damn near jumped out of my skin when I felt Perry wrap his arms around me. I hadn’t even seen him move. “It’s gonna be okay, baby.” He kissed me softly before pulling me closer and holding me right. “You’re not alone in this. I’m gonna be with you every step of the way.”

I let myself melt against him. Nothing could calm me down like Perry could. “I know, and I lose you for it.” I leaned up and kissed his chin. “I’m just scared. What if Nathan hates me? We know nothing about this child. What if he has problems? What if he’s a rotten little brat?”

Perry leaned back so he could see my face, and he made sure that I was looking at him before he spoke. “Then we find him a good kiddie shrink and love him anyway. Nathan may biologically be your brother, but we’re going to be raising him like he’s one of our hellspawn. That’s how you have to look at this. What would you do if it was the baby your carrying or Jack or Jennifer who was in trouble? What would you do to help them?”

“Anything,” I answered without a second thought.

“And we’ll do anything for Nathan,” Perry said simply. He kissed my forehead before completely pulling away from me. “Now, come on. Let’s hit the road. The sooner I’m felt up by a handsy TSA agent, the sooner I can get into therapy to forget about it.”

I laughed. God, I loved that man. I truly did. It was like he had flipped a switch in me. I went from all doom and gloom to hopeful and happy in the course of one short conversation. My husband to be was magic.


	18. Chapter 18

Arriving in Kent, I was in a foul mood. Morning sickness while on a transatlantic flight was no picnic. When we landed, I quickly discovered that my husband-to-be couldn’t drive in the U.K. Perry couldn’t get the hang of driving on the left side of the road. I’d be the one driving the rental car for the duration of our stay, which was scheduled to be one weeklong. We had a lot of legal hoops that we were going to have to jump through to bring Nathan home with us. First, we had to take care of the custody paperwork. Nathan already had a British passport, but it wasn’t going to be simple bring him to America. I wasn’t a citizen of the United States. I was allowed to live in the country because I had a work visa. It was agreed that Perry’s name would go on all of the custody paperwork. This paperwork would then be used to obtain an adoption visa from the American embassy in London. Once we were back in the states, we would jointly file to adopt Nathan. When the adoption was made final, my little brother would be granted American citizenship through Perry. After we married, I planned on filing for citizenship myself but, first things first.

We arrived in my hometown of Deal in Kent and checked into the _Waterfront Hotel_ just as the sun was setting. We were both exhausted, but also starving. Neither one of us wanting to get dressed up to eat in the hotel’s kinda ritzy restaurant, we got back in the car and headed for my favorite restaurant in town, the _Deal Pier Kitchen_ on Beach Street. It was a jeans and jumper sort of place that was built into a pier over the sea. It also happened to be the restaurant that served the fish finger sandwich with a side of chips that I had been craving pretty much from the moment I found out I was expecting.

“Gracie-face,” Perry got my attention from behind his menu. “What on this menu will both taste good and not look weird to me when it’s served?”

That got a giggle out of me. Even on my worst days, Perry could make me smile. “Order the spicy beef burger,” I advised. “I’d also order a glass of milk to go with it.”

After we placed our orders and once, we fell into conversation, I finally started to relax. We were also two of the only people in the restaurant and that probably went a long way towards putting me at ease.

“Have you given any thought towards names for the baby?” Perry asked as our meals were delivered to us at the table.

“A little,” I nodded and popped a chip into my mouth. “I know I want a name that starts with a J, like Jack and Jennifer. I’m really fond of Josie for a girl.”

“I like that.” Perry smiled and picked up his burger. “What about a boy’s name?” He asked before taking a huge bite of his dinner.

“Haven’t thought of one yet.” I noticed that Perry’s face was turning redder than when he was angry, and he was starting to heavily perspire. “Love, are you alright?” I was badly trying not to laugh as he chugged his water. The man was a doctor. He should have known better than to do that.

“My mouth feels hotter than the flames of hell,” Perry gasped out.

“I told you to order a glass of milk.” I got the waitress’ attention and motioned to my suffering git of a fiancé. She got the message and reappeared a few minutes later with a large glass of milk.


	19. Chapter 19

“We packed the tums, right?” Perry was rummaging in the bathroom bag as I climbed into bed that night. “Nevermind. Got ‘em.”

I just rolled my eyes as I grabbed the baby name book that I had brought along off the bedside table. “I told you to order milk.” I flipped to the section I had marked to once again scan the J names.

“And I probably should have told you to wait until we’re married to try to kill me. You’re not on my life insurance yet.” Perry spoke through a mouthful of tums.

“What about Jason for a boy? Or James?” They weren’t bad names, but I wasn’t sure I was really feeling them.

“Those are the names of the college frat boys who are investigated by the Special Victims Unit,” Perry snarked as he crawled into bed. “I was thinking…” He violently fluffed his pillow. “We already have two J named kids. Why not consider another N? It might help make Nathan feel more at home and like he’s one of the family. Now that Josie isn’t a great name,” he rushed to add. I couldn’t blame him. I was prone to mood swings these days.

“That’s not a bad idea,” I admitted. “Any ideas?” I started flipping through the name book to find the N section.

“You’re due near Christmas. What Noelle for a girl?” He gently plucked the book away from me. “Noah for a boy.”

You scrunched up your face. “The Great Flood happened before Jesus was born in the Bible.”

“What?” Perry gave me a weird look as he tossed my book into the chair next to his side of the bed. “No, I like Noelle because of the Christmas connection. Noah, I just like that name.”

“I’m actually good with both of those.” They were both traditional and unusual at the same time while also not being weird.

“Of course, my born-again Christian sister firebreather of a sister will be a little too happy with the Christian-ness of the names.” Perry pretended to think. “We may have to raise the kids in Satanism just to spite her.”

“Your mind really scares me sometimes,” I laughed.

Perry reached over and switched off the lamp on his bedside table. Then he laid down on his back and held out his arm to me. “Get over here, Gracie-Face.”

I switched off my lamp before snuggling up to his chest. “Just to be clear, we just named this kid, right?” I was almost positive that we had, but when Perry went off on one of his little tirades, we tended to get off track and not finish conversations.

“Yeah, baby.” He gently kissed my forehead. “We’ll figure out middle names later. We have a long day ahead of us. You’ve been getting tired more easily recently. I want you to shut that magnificent brain of yours off and get some sleep.”

The tiny feminist in me wanted to dress him down, but I was way too tired to fight a battle that I really didn’t care about.


	20. Chapter 20

We spent three hours the next day in my English solicitor's office, filling out paperwork and getting the ball rolling on preparing to take Nathan home to America. After that, with custody papers in hand, we drove to the group home on the outskirts of Kent, where Nathan was currently staying.

“You good, baby?” Perry asked as I put the car in park.

I took a deep breath before I answered him. “Yeah, I think I am.” I was being honest. The group home was lovely. It was nothing like the hellscapes that I lived in as a child. The house was a nicely maintained old manor house that sat on perfectly manicured grounds that featured a playground, tennis court, and swimming pool. Maybe Nathan’s childhood hadn’t been as nightmarish as mine had been. Maybe he wasn’t as damaged as I had been at his age.

We were met in the entrance hall by the house mother. She was a jolly and warm older Scottish woman who seemed to be absolutely delighted that one of her ‘wee ones’ was getting a permanent home.

“Where is Nathan?” Perry asked politely, but I could tell that he was impatient. He hated playing nice with people and wholly detested perky, talkative people like the house mother.

“He’s up in the dorms saying his goodbyes,” the house mother responded. “He’ll be along in a jiffy.”

“What can you tell us about Nathan?” I inquired. “What’s he like? Is there anything in particular that we need to be concerned about?”

“Oh, he’s a very well-behaved lad,” the dorm mother assured me. “He likes school and comic books. He’s a wee bit shy and quiet at first, but he’ll warm up rather quickly with a soft hand and a touch of patience. He gets scared of being left behind and left out of things. Just be sure to reinforce with him that he’s home with you and that you’re not going anywhere.”

Wonderful. Dear old mum had given my baby brother the same abandonment issues that she had gifted me with, the fucking bitch.

“Miss Bonnie? Is she here yet?” With an accent not at all unlike my own, a little voice called from the top of the stairs.

“She sure is, Nathan, dearie,” ‘Miss Bonnie’ called back. “Why don’t you come down and say hello? Your sister’s excited to meet you.”

Perry reached over and took my hand as the sound of little feet on the stairs drew closer and my moment of truth arrived. Please, God, let this child like me.


End file.
